Anti-skid assembly for rolling machines

ABSTRACT

In a rolling machine of the type having toothed forming racks which are moved in opposite directions while being transversely engaged with a rotatably supported cylindrical workpiece, the workpiece is brought up to a desired rate of rotation prior to its engagement with the teeth on the racks by means of anti-skid pads of elastomeric materials which are arranged upon the respective leading ends of the racks for engagement with the workpiece.

United States Patent [191 Blue [ Mar. 25, 1975 ANTI-SKID ASSEMBLY FOR ROLLING MACHINES Donald Edward Blue, Decatur, Ill.

[75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Caterpillar Tractor Co., Peoria, Ill.

[22] Filed: Apr. 24, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 463,457

[52] U.S. Cl. 72/88, 72/469 [51] Int. Cl B2lh 5/02 [58] Field of Search 72/88, 90, 469

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,015,243 1/1962 Drader 72/469 3,044,329 7/1962 Seibert 72/90 3,818,736 6/1974 Blue 72/88 Primary Examiner-Milton S. Mehr Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Phillips, Moore, Weissenberger, Lempio & Strabala [57] ABSTRACT In a rolling machine of the type having toothed forming racks which are moved in opposite directions while being transversely engaged with a rotatably supported cylindrical workpiece, the workpiece is brought up to a desired rate of rotation prior to its engagement with the teeth on the racks by means of anti-skid pads of elastomeric materials which are arranged upon the respective leading ends of the racks for engagement with the workpiece.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to rolling machines and DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A forming or rolling machine of the type contemmore ti l l t an mi kid bl hi h i plated by the present invention is partially illustrated at adaptable to such machines for imparting rolling motion to the workpiece prior to its engagement with forming projections.

A rolling machine of the type particularly contemplated is described in greater detail within U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 296,280, filed Oct. 10, 1972 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, said application having issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3818736.

The rolling machine of the above-noted patent is typical in that it includes a housing having upper and lower guide means for supporting a pair of powered slide members including forming racks which are tangentially engaged with a rotatably supported cylindrical workpiece. In order to properly impress a desired pe ripheral configuration upon the workpiece, it is desirable to initially set the workpiece in rotation at a selected speed commensurate with the lineal speed of the racks. This assures positive engagement of forming projections upon the racks with the workpiece in order to prevent undesired deformation or marring of the workpiece surface.

Rolling machines of the type disclosed above commonly have smooth surfaces formed at the leading ends of the racks which are intended to initially engage the workpiece and set it in rotation before it is contacted by the forming projections or teeth upon the racks. It has been found that such surfaces often are inadequate to bring the workpiece up to the desired rate of speed. The metal-to-metal contact between the workpiece and the smooth surfaces commonly permits the workpiece to skid rather than to commence desired rotation. This skidding tendency is further promoted by the presence of cutting oils upon the racks and the workpiece.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been discovered that problems of the type noted above may be overcome or eliminated through the employment of an anti-skid assembly comprising a pad of abrasive, oil-resistant and resilient material secured to a leading end of each forming rack, the antiskid pads being configured for interference engagement with the workpiece in order to bring the workpiece up to a desired rate of rotation prior to its engagement with forming projections on the racks.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent by the following description having reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a rolling machine of the type contemplated by the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a further enlarged fragmentary view illustrating a leading end of one of the forming racks on the rolling machine of FIG. 1 with an anti-skid pad being secured to the rack in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is another view of the leading end of the rack as seen from the top of FIG. 2.

10 in FIG. 1. The rolling machine has a relatively massive frame, a portion of which is indicated at 11. Upper and lower guide units 12 and 13 are secured to the frame by bolts 14 and include internally formed surfaces or guide tracks (not shown) for respectively receiving upper and lower powered slide members indicated at 16 and 17. An elongaged forming die or rack is secured to each of the slide members, an upper forming rack being indicated at 18 and a lower forming rack being indicated at 19.

The forming racks 18 and 19 are accordingly arranged within the forming machine for tangential engagement with a cylindrical workpiece indicated at 21. The cylindrical workpiece is rotatably supported upon stationary locating centers or suitable cradles (not shown) which may, for example, be adjustably mounted upon the frame 11 of the forming machine.

Each of the racks l8 and 19 has a repetitive configuration of forming projections or teeth indicated at 22. One preferred configuration and orientation of such forming teeth may be seen, for example, by having reference to the patent noted above. Generally, the teeth are arranged upon the racks so that as the racks are moved tangentially past the workpiece in opposite directions, the forming teeth penetrate the periphery of the cylindrical workpiece to form a peripheral configuration thereon.

The racks may be moved tangentially past the workpiece by means of hydraulic jacks such as that indicated at 23, which is secured between the slide member 17 and the frame 11. A similar jack (not shown) is also employed to simultaneously move the other slide member 16 and associated rack 18 in the opposite direction.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 as well as FIG. 1, each of the racks 18 and 19 has a leading end, indicated respectively at 28 and 29. The leading ends of the two racks simultaneously enter into tangential engagement with the workpiece prior to engagement of the workpiece with the forming teeth 22. Generally, the metallic surfaces of the leading ends on the racks, as indicated at 31 in FIG. 2, are spaced apart from each other to just engage the workpiece.

In order to assure that the workpiece is brought up to a rotating speed which is generally equal to the lineal speed of the racks 18 and 19 prior to engagement with the teeth 22, anti-skid pads 32 and 33 are arranged upon the leading ends of the two racks 18 and 19 respectively. The anti-skid pad 33 arranged upon the leading end of the rack 19 is also illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. It will, of course, be understood that the other antiskid pad 32 is to be of similar composition and configuration.

Initially, the anti-skid pads 32 and 33 are to be formed from material characterized as being abrasive, oil-resistant and resilient. Abrasiveness in the pads assures frictional engagement with the workpiece so that it will be properly set into rotation. Oil resistance of the pads is also important to resist the effect of cutting oils, which are commonly present upon the racks and the workpiece. Finally, the resilient anti-skid pads are arranged upon recessed surfaces 34 at the leading ends of the racks and extend slightly above the metallic surfaces 31 to assure interference engagement of the two pads with the workpiece. The pads also are selected to have a sufficient length along the forming axis of the racks to assure that the workpiece is brought up to the desired rotating speed before it enters into engagement with the teeth 22.

The pads, which may be replaced, are secured to the recessed surfaces 34 by conventional means such as cement or mechanical retainer (not shown). The elastomeric pads are preferably formed from Buna N rubber having a durometer hardness of approximately 60 to 70. This material exhibits the desired characteristics of abrasiveness, resilience and oil resistance.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rolling machine for forming a peripheral configuration on a rotatably supported cylindrical workpiece and having a housing with upper and lower guide means defined thereon, a pair of powered slide members respectively movable along said guide means transversely of the workpiece, and a pair of forming racks mounted upon said slide members for substantially simultaneous movement in opposite directions and having forming projections arranged for tangential engagement with the workpiece, the improvement comprising an anti-skid assembly for assuring proper rotation of the workpiece as it is initially engaged by the forming projections, the anti-skid assembly including a pad of abrasive, oil resistant and resilient material secured to a leading end of each forming rack, the pads being spaced apart from each other by a preselected distance to assure common interference engagement with the workpiece, the pads having a preselected length along the forming axis of the racks in order to bring the workpiece up to a desired rate of rotation commensurate with the lineal speed of the racks prior to its engagement with the forming projections.

2. The rolling machine of claim 1 wherein each pad is an insert of elastomer secured to a recessed surface on the leading end of each rack.

3. The rolling machine of claim 1 wherein each pad is an elastomeric insert having a durometer hardness in the general range of -70.

4. The rolling machine of claim 3 wherein each elastomeric insert is formed from Buna N rubber.

5. A gear or spline forming machine for rolling a plurality of teeth onto the periphery of a rotatably supported cylindrical workpiece, comprising:

a housing having upper and lower guide means defined thereon,

a pair of powered slide members respectively movable along said guide means transversely of the workpiece,

a pair of tooth-forming racks mounted upon said slide members for movement in opposite directions and having forming projections arranged for tangential engagement with the workpiece, and

an anti-skid pad formed from an abrasive, oilresistant and resilient elastomeric material secured to a leading end of each forming rack for engagement with the workpiece prior to engagement of the workpiece with the forming projections, the elastomeric pads being spaced apart from each other by a preselected distance to assure common interference engagement with the workpiece. the pads having a preselected length along the forming axis ofthe racks in order to bring the workpiece up to a desired rate of rotation commensurate with the lineal speed of the racks prior to engagement of the workpiece with the forming projections.

6. The machine of claim 5 wherein each elastomeric pad is an insert secured to a recessed surface upon the leading end of each forming rack.

l k l 

1. In a rolling machine for forming a pEripheral configuration on a rotatably supported cylindrical workpiece and having a housing with upper and lower guide means defined thereon, a pair of powered slide members respectively movable along said guide means transversely of the workpiece, and a pair of forming racks mounted upon said slide members for substantially simultaneous movement in opposite directions and having forming projections arranged for tangential engagement with the workpiece, the improvement comprising an anti-skid assembly for assuring proper rotation of the workpiece as it is initially engaged by the forming projections, the anti-skid assembly including a pad of abrasive, oil resistant and resilient material secured to a leading end of each forming rack, the pads being spaced apart from each other by a preselected distance to assure common interference engagement with the workpiece, the pads having a preselected length along the forming axis of the racks in order to bring the workpiece up to a desired rate of rotation commensurate with the lineal speed of the racks prior to its engagement with the forming projections.
 2. The rolling machine of claim 1 wherein each pad is an insert of elastomer secured to a recessed surface on the leading end of each rack.
 3. The rolling machine of claim 1 wherein each pad is an elastomeric insert having a durometer hardness in the general range of 60-70.
 4. The rolling machine of claim 3 wherein each elastomeric insert is formed from Buna N rubber.
 5. A gear or spline forming machine for rolling a plurality of teeth onto the periphery of a rotatably supported cylindrical workpiece, comprising: a housing having upper and lower guide means defined thereon, a pair of powered slide members respectively movable along said guide means transversely of the workpiece, a pair of tooth-forming racks mounted upon said slide members for movement in opposite directions and having forming projections arranged for tangential engagement with the workpiece, and an anti-skid pad formed from an abrasive, oil-resistant and resilient elastomeric material secured to a leading end of each forming rack for engagement with the workpiece prior to engagement of the workpiece with the forming projections, the elastomeric pads being spaced apart from each other by a preselected distance to assure common interference engagement with the workpiece, the pads having a preselected length along the forming axis of the racks in order to bring the workpiece up to a desired rate of rotation commensurate with the lineal speed of the racks prior to engagement of the workpiece with the forming projections.
 6. The machine of claim 5 wherein each elastomeric pad is an insert secured to a recessed surface upon the leading end of each forming rack. 